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UBI was tested during 2020 on a nearly global scale. In the US, the CARES Act which provided stimulus checks for every tax-paying US citizen as well as extensio

UBI was tested during 2020 on a nearly global scale. In the US, the CARES Act which provided stimulus checks for every tax-paying US citizen as well as extensions to unemployment was essentially a giant UBI experiment. Not for AI, but for a giant shift in economic activity where many individuals became unemployed nonetheless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CARES_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CARES_Act EDIT: For the downvoters, yes components of CARES was in fact inspired by UBI: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/andrew-yang-aoc-free-ubi-cash-can-help-during-coronavirus-pandemic.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/andrew-yang-aoc-free-ubi-cas... https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-aoc-demands-universal-basic-income-other-radical-measures-2020-3 https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-aoc-demands-univ...

advael 3y ago
This is a nonsensical argument UBI has three basic properties that the CARES act fulfills none of 1. Covers cost of living for some basic standard (debatable, but should include food, water, and shelter at minimum) 2. Is available to everyone without onerous requirements or means-testing (IE is "universal") 3. Carries a reasonable expectation of continuity such that people can plan around continuing to have it The CARES act was an emergency measure that absolutely zero people expected or intended to be permanent, it was laden with all the means-testing and bureaucratic hurdles that unemployment generally carries, and it very clearly did not provide adequate support for quite a lot of people It's meaningless to call something a "test" when it carries none of the properties that proponents of a policy claim would make it desirable. The only perspective from which the comparison even makes sense is from that of someone who's not considered it seriously and come up with a strawman to argue against it (IE something like "UBI is the government gives people some money") It also seems worth mentioning that I really don't buy the highly political claim that some people seem to view as self-evident: that people remained unemployed longer because they got extended unemployment benefits, rather than as a result of the massive economic shock that prompted that decision in the first place
itishappy 3y ago
It may be modeled on UBI, but it's not. Universal basic income is perpetual and unconditional, while the CARES Act was a one-time payment in response to COVID. I'm sure there's still a lot we can learn from it, but I also expect many of the psychological effects will be someone muted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_basic_income_pilots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_basic_income_pilots

advael 3y ago

This is a nonsensical argument UBI has three basic properties that the CARES act fulfills none of 1. Covers cost of living for some basic standard (debatable, but should include food, water, and shelter at minimum) 2. Is available to everyone without onerous requirements or means-testing (IE is "universal") 3. Carries a reasonable expectation of continuity such that people can plan around continuing to have it The CARES act was an emergency measure that absolutely zero people expected or intended to be permanent, it was laden with all the means-testing and bureaucratic hurdles that unemployment generally carries, and it very clearly did not provide adequate support for quite a lot of people It's meaningless to call something a "test" when it carries none of the properties that proponents of a policy claim would make it desirable. The only perspective from which the comparison even makes sense is from that of someone who's not considered it seriously and come up with a strawman to argue against it (IE something like "UBI is the government gives people some money") It also seems worth mentioning that I really don't buy the highly political claim that some people seem to view as self-evident: that people remained unemployed longer because they got extended unemployment benefits, rather than as a result of the massive economic shock that prompted that decision in the first place

itishappy 3y ago

It may be modeled on UBI, but it's not. Universal basic income is perpetual and unconditional, while the CARES Act was a one-time payment in response to COVID. I'm sure there's still a lot we can learn from it, but I also expect many of the psychological effects will be someone muted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_basic_income_pilots https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_basic_income_pilots